Day 4: Today's Pick — A $14 Korean Bagel Slicer That Saved My Hand
The 'bagel guillotine' has existed forever. This one, from a small Seoul kitchenware brand, is genuinely the first that doesn't feel like it'll take a finger.
Today's thing — A $14 Korean Bagel Slicer That Saved My Hand
The good stuff
- ✓Genuinely safe — your hand never gets near the blade
- ✓Folds flat for storage, which is a small miracle
- ✓Sliced bagel is even, top to bottom, every time
The shrug
- !Won't fit oversized 'New York deli' style bagels
- !Plastic side panels feel cheap, even though they aren't
Let's get this out of the way: I have cut myself slicing bagels four times. One required a butterfly bandage. One did not require one but I used one anyway. I am not proud of any of these.
So I bought the bagel slicer. The bagel slicer works.
What it is
A small, flat-folding plastic-and-steel contraption from a Seoul kitchenware brand called Kohaku. (You can find it under "Kohaku Bagel Cutter" on a few imported-goods sites, around $14.) It has two side panels with parallel slots, and a bagel-sized cradle in the middle. You drop the bagel in the cradle. You push a serrated blade through the slots. The bagel ends up sliced, your fingers end up unsliced, and you eat breakfast.
How it actually works
The cradle holds the bagel snug. The blade is captured by the slots, so it can only travel one way — straight down through the bagel. Your other hand never gets close to the cutting plane. There is no "oh god the knife slipped" possibility, because the knife cannot slip.
What surprised me
The slice is even. I'd assumed it would crush the bagel, but the cradle is shaped to support the underside of a bagel without compressing the top. The result is a flat, even cut from edge to edge — the kind that toasts evenly, which is actually the second hidden value of the device.
What it can't do
It will not fit a bagel that is bigger than a large standard bagel. So if you live near an actual New York Jewish deli and bring home one of those softball-sized monsters, you'll have to use a knife and risk a butterfly bandage. For everything else (Trader Joe's, supermarket, Saturday-morning bakery), it's fine.
Storage
Folds flat to about 11mm. Lives in our cutlery drawer. Disappears.
The other thing
I did not realize how much I'd been avoiding bagels because of the slicing risk until I bought this. I've now made two batches at home (Day 11's pick covers that, get ready) and bought a bagel basically every week. The slicer didn't change my life — it just removed a friction point that was, quietly, costing me a food I love.
That is, honestly, exactly what this newsletter exists to find.
Tomorrow: a Brazilian houseplant that I am pretty sure is cheating.
Reader reactions
(5)Bought the slicer and ate three bagels yesterday. This is a terrible influence.
Have you tried the Bodum one? Curious how it stacks up.
Doesn't fit a Bagel Hole bagel. Fair warning.
I'm a chef and the safety thing is real. Bagels and avocados, two underestimated knife dangers.
Kohaku is a great brand. Their nori-cutter and toast template are also worth a look.
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Keep going
Day 271: Today's Pick — Watching Kabuki at the Kabuki-za in Tokyo
Day 45: Today's Pick — A Regional Cookie From My Abuela's Town